Gang members get life for 2023 killings at L.A. lookouts

Four gang members were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for roles in two 2023 armed robberies that killed three people at secluded lookout points. A fifth defendant received a minimum 30 years to life after the Angeles County case

At 3:30 a.m. on July 22. 2023. a pair of people were sitting in a vehicle in the Angeles Crest National Forest when three men approached with a gun. The driver, Jessie Enrique Munoz, 32, refused to hand over his car keys and put his vehicle in reverse, prosecutors said. Cortez shot and killed him during the encounter. His passenger was unharmed.

Less than 48 hours later, at 2 a.m. in the parking lot outside Terreanea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. investigators say the same gang targeted another pair in their vehicle. Jorge Ramos, 36, and Taylorraven Whittaker, 26, were killed after they refused to “hand over their valuables,” authorities said.

On Thursday. the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said four defendants were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for their roles in the two robberies. which prosecutors said resulted in three deaths. A fifth defendant—also described as a gang member—received a minimum sentence of 30 years to life.

Prosecutors identified the defendants as Marco Antonio Hernandez, 21; Luis Ventura, 27; Abraham Alvarenga Cortez, 24; Rossel Jose Hernandez-Ponce, 24; and Wendy Sarai Cerritos, 23.

Hernandez was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts each of second-degree robbery and attempted second-degree robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

Ventura and Cortez were also found guilty of murder and robbery charges. Ventura received convictions on one count of first-degree murder. two counts of second degree robbery. and one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery. the district attorney’s office said. Prosecutors said Ventura was the only defendant not facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. Cortez was found guilty along with Ventura for one count of first-degree murder. two counts of second degree robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery. authorities said.

The other two defendants—Hernandez-Ponce and Cerritos—were convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery, according to authorities.

The defendants were in custody since their arrests in late July and August 2023.

In the first incident. prosecutors said Hernandez. Ventura and Cortez drove to the Angeles Crest National Forest and found Munoz and a friend sitting in a vehicle. They held the two at gunpoint and robbed them. Munoz was shot and killed by Cortez after he refused to turn over his car keys and put his vehicle in reverse. prosecutors said; court records showed the passenger was unharmed.

In the second incident, prosecutors said Cerritos, Hernandez-Ponce and Hernandez approached two people in the vehicle at the Terreanea Resort parking lot. Ramos and Whittaker were killed after the victims refused to “hand over their valuables,” authorities said.

With the Thursday sentencing. the case leaves a stark footprint across two nights in 2023: a gun to a driver’s refusal in the Angeles National Forest. and a separate robbery turning fatal outside a resort in Rancho Palos Verdes—followed by prison terms measured in lifetimes for the men and women found responsible.

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